The RegenNarration

Regenerating Life is a new feature-length documentary that takes a fresh look at solving the climate crisis - and everything else. Internationally acclaimed New York filmmaker John Feldman recently premiered it in the US (where recent podcast guest Judith Schwartz featured on the panel). He’s now about to accompany its premiere in Europe.

The film shifts away from the narrative that burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of the climate crisis – seeing that as just one symptom, significant as it is, of humankind’s relentless destruction of nature as a whole. This is because it’s the vast biodiversity on this planet that regulates and balances the climate. And the key take home? We can and are reversing this destructive process by Regenerating Life.

The film is also a kind of tribute to a much-loved Aussie scientist, Walter Jehne. And John talks here about his own transformation with varied projects and other legends in systemic thinking over the decades. Some feature in this film, like Vandana Shiva, Wes Jackson, Didi Pershouse, Satish Kumar and Naima Penniman. At the close, a special feature, with music made for the film by John’s wife, renowned composer Sheila Silver.

Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on Apple and some other apps, and the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).

Recorded 16 February 2024.

Title slide: John Feldman (supplied).

See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a member via the Patreon page.

Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics.

Music from the film by Sheila Silver, with piano by Sheila and violin by Emmanuel Vukovich.

The RegenNarration playlist, featuring music chosen by guests (with thanks to podcast member Josie Symons).

Find more:
Regenerating Life website with trailer, more on John, and how you can see and screen the film.

The composition Shooting Ruminants (partly inspired by the Kachana Station story), part of Resilient Earth by Sheila Silver.

My conversation with Tony Rinaudo for episode 64.

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The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

We’re back at the Reconnection Festival for the last of three inter-related panel conversations, each building on the other. This one's on health, and features explosive revelations about a ‘Motor Neuron Disease alley’ linked to pollution and river degeneration in Australia’s Riverina agricultural district. Akin to the ‘cancer alley’ of the Mississippi River that transformed the life of our international guest, Zach Bush MD. Zach went on to found US not-for-profit Farmer’s Footprint, and has now shepherded it to five countries so far, including Farmer’s Footprint Australia.

Australia’s MND alley is just part of what Kate McBride is reporting on, and living, as a researcher with The Australia Institute and 5th generation farmer, born and bred on the half-million-acre Tolarno Station on the Darling Barka River. She came to national prominence unintentionally as the river ran dry and ongoing fish kills have followed.

Dr Pran Yoganathan, a Gastroenterologist and renowned voice of the 'regenerative medical movement', and also now a farmer, shares his experiences within the medical system in this context.

Our guests bring to light the urgency of revisiting our approach to medicine and agriculture, and everything else, and how we can do it. We hear profound stories of embracing our cultural roots, generating greater community advocacy, and collaborating across diverse viewpoints, right into the halls of power.

Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on Apple and some other apps, and the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).

Recorded in the northern rivers of NSW on 11 November 2023.

Title slide: AJ, Zach, Pran & Kate (pic: Olivia Katz).

See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a member via the Patreon page.

Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from the film Regenerating Australia.

The RegenNarration playlist, featuring music chosen by guests (with thanks to podcast member Josie Symons).

Find more:
You can hear more of Zach in conversation with Tanya Massy, Ella Noah Bancroft and myself the year prior for episode 152.

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Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Welcome to the first of our mid-week specials. This is one of the experiments I want to try this year. Short grab releases featuring particular opportunities, stories or updates. There are just so many coming on, I hope this helps you to access them, and all of us to build on them. As ever, you’ll let me know what you think!

First up then, a huge opportunity in the wheatbelt of WA. The Haggerty family have put their original ‘home’ property up for sale. This is where they developed the foundation of their globally renowned ‘natural intelligence farming’ model over a few decades. Here they share with us some of the what, why and how of the sale, along with a sense of the enormous possibilities on offer.

Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on Apple and some other apps, and the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).

This was recorded on 8 February 2024.

Title slide: the view Ian talks about (pic: Anthony James).

See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a member via the Patreon page.

Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from the film Regenerating Australia.

The RegenNarration playlist, featuring music chosen by guests (with thanks to podcast member Josie Symons).

Find more:
Flyer with contact for the sale, viewable on the episode webpage.

The real estate agent’s page for the property.

Di’s LinkedIn page (with email).

The new Natural Intelligence Farming page on LinkedIn.

The amazing Miller and Baker in North Perth, mentioned in this conversation and featured on episode 69.

You can hear more of Di and Ian in conversation with Anthony most recently for episode 142.

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Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Feast on our next conversation at the Reconnection Festival, the largest gathering of the regenerative movement in this country to date. This time, we’re talking food, for which the 800 people present were joined by a few more visionaries: 

• Laura Dalrymple, founder of the extraordinary Feather and Bone in Sydney 
• Matthew Evans, author, TV host & farmer at Fat Pig Farm in Tasmania, and
• Darren Doherty, founder of the globally renowned Regrarians out of Central Victoria. 

The general trajectory of the conversation was ‘what’s hot, what’s not, what’s working and what’s next?’ It broaches some of the tough stuff regarding how we navigate the complexities of the global food system to foster a healthier society and planet? This includes challenges related to meat debates, food production health crises, and economic barriers. We also delve into the treasure trove of stuff that’s working well. Which sums to a call to further reconnect with the journey of our food from farm to fork (and far beyond), even amidst financial hurdles and a world in flux.

Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on Apple and some other apps, and the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).

This was recorded live at the Green Room stage of the BluesFest venue in the northern rivers of NSW on 11 November 2023.

Title slide L-R: Anthony, Darren, Matthew and Laura (pic: Olivia Katz).

See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a member via the Patreon page.

Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from the film Regenerating Australia.

The RegenNarration playlist, featuring music chosen by guests (with thanks to podcast member Josie Symons).

Find more:
Farmer’s Footprint Australia.

You can hear more of Matthew Evans with Anthony for episode 60, on his book On Eating Meat, and episode 138 on his following book Soil (by a very active Swan River / Derbal Yerrigan in Perth / Boorloo).

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Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

We head over to the eastern-most point of Australia this week, for the largest gathering of the regenerative movement in this country to date. Join us at the Reconnection Festival, staged by Farmer’s Footprint Australia in November last year. We sit with a panel of three visionary women, for a conversation on culture that laid a foundation for everything that followed. Two of our panellists are previous podcast guests: Dr Amanda Cahill, CEO and founder of The Next Economy, and Jade Miles, CEO of Sustainable Table and farmer and author at Black Barn Farm. They were joined here by Indigenous elder Isira, known as Aunty Jinta.

This was one of my favourite conversations last year, and in many ways lays a foundation for this year too. There are profound insights shared here into the cultural bedrock necessary for nurturing life on Earth. Our guests faced some wrenching dilemmas at the time too, providing a powerful launching point for exploring what might actually offer ways through our most trenchant impasses, to beneficial transformations.

Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on Apple and some other apps, and the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).

This was recorded live in the northern rivers of NSW on 11 November 2023.

Title slide L-R: Anthony, Amanda, Jade & Isira (pic: Olivia Katz).

See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a member via the Patreon page.

Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from the film Regenerating Australia.

The RegenNarration playlist, featuring music chosen by guests (with thanks to podcast member Josie Symons).

Find more:
Amanda Cahill also features in conversation with Anthony at her home on episode 134.

Jade Miles chats with Anthony at her farm on episode 128 (and with Rachel Ward live in Margaret River in episode 180).

Send us a voicemail

Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Join us at the grand finale of the 2023 Regenerative Agriculture Conference in Margaret River WA. Following on from last week, today we’re with another all-star panel. And again, we’ve no predetermined agenda, but to reflect on what had gone before, and what might come next.

• Dr Judi Earl is a national treasure, having conducted the first studies describing the benefits to pasture from planned grazing. She has been a Holistic Management educator since 2002, and showcases the capacity of grazing animals to regenerate land on her 454 hectare property in NSW.
• Rowan Reid is a global figurehead in agroforestry. He’s a co-founder of one of Australia’s most successful Landcare groups, the Otway Agroforestry Network, in southern Victoria. More than 12,000 visitors have toured his Bambra Agroforestry Farm, which is set up as a 42-hectare outdoor classroom for farmers, scientists, students and tree lovers.
• Kristy Stewart is a young leader who was born and raised up the road from Rowan Reid at Yan Yan Gurt West, an award-winning sheep and agroforestry farm of 575 acres, on Wadawurrung and Gadubanud Country. You might remember Kristy from episode 132 out at the family farm, or facilitating for Nicole Masters in her workshop last year.
• Grant Sims runs the family farm in Victoria, which has been no-till since the early 80’s. When Grant came back to the farm full time he started looking at ways to improve the life and function of the soil through biology. Today he is one of this country’s most popular speakers and trainers on the topic.

Our guests are not just talking about change; they're living it, transforming the very soil we stand on, food we eat, water we drink, clothes we wear, air we breathe, livelihoods we make, and communities we belong to.

Head here for chapter markers (also available on Apple and some other apps, and the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript (AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).

This was recorded on 7 September 2023.

Title slide L-R: Kristy, Rowan, Grant & Judi (pic: Daniela Tommasi).

See more photos on the website, and for more behind the scenes, become a paid subscriber below.

Music:
Wadandi Boodja, by The Nomadics, off their latest album.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from the film Regenerating Australia.

Send us a voicemail

Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Welcome to the new year. And welcome to a new world, where soil renews and pastures flourish, where every bite of food embodies a philosophy of renewal. The Regenerative Era blooms, and with it, a transformative approach to our landscapes and the very sustenance of life. Join us on a journey to Margaret River, where the 2023 Regenerative Agriculture Conference ignited a beacon of hope and inspiration with a turnout of passionate souls exceeding 300. This episode is your exclusive pass to the heart of a movement, with regenerative systems pioneers forming an all-star panel that pulled no punches and had plenty of laughs along the way:

• Dr Terry McCosker OAM, founder of RCS Australia and one of the great innovators of Australian agriculture for over 55 years;
• Dianne & Ian Haggerty, globally renowned pioneers in WA’s wheatbelt;
• Heidi Mippy, award-winning Noongar and Thiin-Mah Warriyangka woman who has worked in community development for over 25 years, runs a business, and has a chapter in the best-selling book Rising Matriarch;
• And Rod O’Bree from Yanget Farm, whose work has been described as taking Peter Andrews’ famed Natural Sequence Farming to the next level - to say nothing of his work regenerating supply chains. 

This episode isn't just a recount of a conference; it's an immersion into an era that redefines our relationship with nature, a blueprint for a future where regeneration is not just a concept but a living, breathing reality.

Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on Apple and some other apps, and the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect).

Recorded on 6 September 2023.

Title slide L-R: Heidi, Terry, Rod, Ian & Di (pic: Daniela Tommasi).

See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a member via the Patreon page.

Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics, off their latest album.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from the film Regenerating Australia.

The RegenNarration playlist, featuring music chosen by guests (with thanks to subscribing member Josie Symons).

Find more:
Hear more from Terry McCosker (and wife Pam) in ep136, Heidi Mippy in ep178, and Di & Ian Haggerty in ep142.

And hear Jade Miles & Rachel Ward the night before the conference in ep180.

Send us a voicemail

Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Welcome to the customary package of highlights from another brilliant array of guests throughout 2023, accompanied by some of the music and sounds of Country heard along the way. Our guests were farmers, artists, First Nations, entrepreneurs, investors, former miners, migrants, health professionals, writers, journalists, facilitators, producers, consultants, researchers, diplomats, political economists, permaculturalists, market gardeners, chefs and more; some famous, many not, of all ages, from right around Australia and the world. It’s all put together here in what sums to a feast of uplift, fun, beauty, guts and love.

See the website for the ‘track list’.

Title image: A moment of trust, Anthony face to face with Kalahari the bull, at Kachana Station (pic: Chris Henggeler).

With thanks to all the wonderful musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here.

Find more:
To access the full catalogue of episodes, head to the website at https://www.regennarration.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening, have a wonderful festive season and see you again in 2024!

Send us a voicemail

Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Welcome to a very special final episode for 2023. After seven years of this podcast, covering many inspiring stories, there’s clearly no mystery as to how we go about regeneration. So why is the macro story, if you like, the big picture - extinctions, emissions, inequality, health - still going the wrong way? Is there something we’re missing, for all our regenerative efforts? Something that doesn’t just help a few of us on regenerative trajectories, but all of us? Something that changes what happens, not just in the margins, but all over?

Throughout the last 18 months or so, in particular, a thread has emerged on the podcast that suggests there is indeed that something, and we know how to go about that too. And my guest today, Jeff Goebel, has been at it longer than most. You might remember my recent guest on ep175, the award-winning author of The Reindeer Chronicles, Judith Schwartz, talking about him. She wrote up an incredible story in that book, of community transformation guided by Jeff, and was so inspired by it she has since set up a new initiative with him.

Jeff Goebel became a Holistic Management trainer with Allan Savory in the mid-80s. But pretty soon felt it was missing something, as did Allan. Then a series of uncanny events and outstanding successes in Jeff’s life, including a pivotal experience with First Nations, set him on a path of what he calls community consensus work. He is now globally renowned for developing a highly effective program of respectful listening, visioning, and planning that attains 100% consensus - and commitment - of all parties, in all sorts of contexts. And often where human conflict and land degradation are at their worst.

Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).

This was recorded on 8 December 2023.

Title slide: Jeff Goebel on Navajo land in 2013.

Music:
Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, off the soundtrack for the film Regenerating Australia.

Find more:
Community Consensus Institute.

Do the Impossible.

Send us a voicemail

Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

D’harawal man Gregory Andrews is the Former Ambassador and first Threatened Species Commissioner of Australia who went on Climate Hunger Strike outside Australia’s federal parliament for, as he put it, my kids and country. On the 16th day, he was hospitalised. And while Gregory began his recovery, a community vigil of sorts kicked in, with people taking Gregory’s place, fasting for a day each. And that’s just a hint of some of the extraordinary insight and power sparked by Gregory’s experience - as indeed the history of these sorts of experiences has often found. Though not all progressive voices, in this instance, including my federal independent MP, as it happens, Kate Chaney, were in support.

We talk about all this in what became a very personal exchange about the value of what we can give of our lives, in these times.

Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).

This was recorded on 27 November 2023.

Title slide: Gregory on his back patio amongst the trees in Canberra during this conversation.

Music:
Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, off the soundtrack for the film Regenerating Australia.

Find more:
Lyrebird Dreaming, Gregory’s website, including the Climate Hunger Strike petition outlining his 5 demands of the government.

Songs from a Hungry Finch (Gregory’s playlist while on hunger strike).

Send us a voicemail

Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!